Abused In Solitude
by Ooonicorn
Summary: Harry is about to start his sixth year at Hogwarts, but everything is changing. Abuse is all he has ever really known and has kept it as a well hidden secret from the Wizarding World. When it all becomes too much for Harry, what will he do? Distancing himself from his friends and hiding his own personal secret, will he allow himself to be saved or help in his demise? AU
1. Abused In Solitude

The night was cold as he laid his aching head against the window. It had been like that all day as he did his list of chores. Aunt Petunia had giving him a particularly tedious list that day because he had been stupid enough to ask for some pills to numb the pain. He thought back to the painful afternoon. Uncle Vernon came home and Aunt Petunia told him what Harry had asked with a solemn expression. Vernon was fuming by the time he pounded up the stairs. He stopped short of the door, taking time to catch his breath before bounding through it.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are, Boy!" He practically screamed.  
Harry jumped to attention, a flash of fear crossing his eyes. He knew this was coming the second he saw his Aunt's reaction when he asked for pain relief.  
"We give you the food off our table, Clothes for you to wear and Dudley's second bedroom purely out of the goodness of our hearts," At this he pointed towards himself. Spit flying from his mouth, "We took you in when your freak parents died and you have the audacity to ask for more!" Uncle Vernon's face was now bright purple as he yelled at Harry.

"I'm sorry sir." Harry whispered quietly and cowered as the fat man brought his large fist down and struck him on the side of his head. Harry fell to the floor with a loud thud. He crawled over to the corner of the room and curled himself into the fetal position taking the taking the blows and kicks aimed at him by his 'guardian'. This horrid scene carried on for several minutes until Harry stopped making whimpering sounds and passed out. He had learnt from a very young age that crying out only made his uncle madder…

"Do you want the neighbours to here you making those god awful noises?" as his uncle would continually hit him harder. So by the time he was 7, he had learnt calling for help did nothing. Nobody would come.

When Harry finally awoke from his induced sleep. He glanced around room and brought himself up to his knees. Hunching over, he cradled his arms around his ribs. Every fibre of his being aching at slight movement. He looked over to his small mirror on the opposite side of the room; cracked, with shards on the floor. Harry crawled over to pick up a piece of broken glass, clutching it in his hand tightly. As he sat down on the bed, he looked at it intently, contemplating his next move. He shuddered and held his breath before dragging the jagged glass over his forearm. He let out sigh, feeling the tension roll off his shoulders. Watching the flow of crimson red starting to rise and trail down his arms feeling as though everything was once right in the world. The need to feel a release had become addictive and he found himself aching to do it daily. He had started cutting himself after his fifth year…a few days after Sirius had fallen through the veil. Guilt had taken over him. He didn't move for days, just lying on his bed. His Aunt and Uncle let him be, but refused to feed him till he completed his jobs. 'Its not like I want to eat anyways' he would tell himself, 'I don't deserve to.' After a week of not eating and no sign of the wretched Boy, Vernon began to get very irritable and made his way to check if he was alive. He un-locked the door and thrust it open.

"Get up boy!" he yelled at him while striding over to yank the boy awake. As he grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him around to face him , he caught site of something red on the boys arms. His mouthed opened in recognition. The boy had blood trickling down his arms soaking his clothes and sheets in the process.

"Unc-… Uncle Vernon!" Harry stammered and moved to try and cover up his arms, "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing… what am I …I live here BOY!" Roared Uncle Vernon. And belted Harry across the the side of his face. "This is my home and if I hear you speak to me like that again I will toss you out on your ass! No matter what that old man says." Giving Harry a final blow to the head before exiting the room.

After that day, Harry made sure to be extra careful not to let his Uncle or Aunt find any traces of blood. Not that they would care if he was harming himself, they just wouldn't want to be blamed if the authorities found out or anyone from Hogwarts. 'Merlin. I can just imagine what people would say if they saw me now. The "apparent" saviour of the Wizarding World and he can't even defend himself against his own family' he scoffed at the thought, 'some family'. Maybe he could use a concealing charm on himself so no one would notice his scars. He liked the scars; they reminded him that he could still feel and that he was human.

Harry wiped up the remaining blood from his forearm and lay in silence just waiting for sleep to take him, 'Why can't it all just end!' He felt a sharp pain emanating from his scar. The throbbing had been gradually getting harsher over the weeks but tonight it was unbearable. He dug his nails into his arms to try and distract himself from the pain in his head. 'If only I had a pain potion or even some pain killers' he thought about sneaking some from the medicine cupboard, it would be worth the beating he would received if it subside the pain. It became horrid as he curled up in pain holding his head. A tear slid down his as he moaned.  
He laid his head on his worn pillow. It was a musty thing, but it was cool to the touch. It acted as a subtle aid to his pain. Still, more tears followed the first. The pillow, sadly, warmed up from his burning skin and he had to go through the torment of moving his head to another cold spot. Again, he dug his nails into his skin. The pinch, along with the pillow, did little for him. It as enough though. Eventually he drifted off into a pained sleep. Tomorrow he would have to put on happy face and try to fool the rest of the world, because tomorrow, he was going back to Hogwarts.


	2. Paper Cuts and Chit Chat

**Abused in Solitude**

Harry awoke to the sound of fluttering wings rattling against a cage. Hedwig knew what today was and showed her excitement. Over the summer Uncle Vernon had aloud her to be released once a week to deliver a letter to the Order and to his friends assuring them that he was okay and wanted to stay at Privet Drive for the holidays. Its not that he wanted to stay with his relatives, its just that they would leave him alone when all his friends would do is berate him; especially Dumbledore. Ron had been a bit disgruntled that his best friend would rather stay with his muggle family then with him but soon got over it when his parents decided to take the family on a trip to Sweden to visit some cousins. Hermione had been harder to convince. She had owled him constantly, saying her parents would love to have him to stay. She was worried about his well being, disturbed at what he might do after the death of Sirius. Hermione had gone and brought a book, reading up on how people coped after the death of a loved one. She kept egging him on, telling him that he needed to talk about it. He thought back to that day, reading her letter._ 'Harry, it's not good to bottle things up. You need to talk about things that are bothering you because it may lead you to do things you will regret later… and you don't want to end up like Professor Snape." _ He shuddered at the thought of ending up like Snape, 'I wonder what happened to the poor bastard to make him turn into such a git?' then shook himself mentally when he found himself sympathising for his greasy potions master. Harry got out of bed and went to give Hedwig some bread before setting her free of her confinement and flying to Hogwarts. He paused at the window briefly, watching her soar over the houses of Private Drive and wondered to himself, 'How am I going to get away with not eating much back at the castle? Especially with Hermione watching me like a hawk trying to spot if im depressed'. He walked over to change his clothes, 'I'm not depressed' he told himself and pulled off his shirt. He caught sight of the scars on his arms; some from the previous weeks and the fresh ones from last night. Sighing heavily, he pulled on a long sleeved top before making his way down the stairs dragging his trunk behind.

Harry rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes. Ron and Hermione were out patrolling the train, fore filling their prefect duties so Harry was left in the quiet cabin, able to have some time to himself before having to return to the busy life as a student at Hogwarts. Harry sat there, listening to the hum of the train and hearing the flicker of conversations from the other students passing by his cabin, not bothering to stop and talk to him. Just sitting there in the quiet compartment Harry found himself thinking back to his previous years. Every year they sat together in a compartment, shared holiday stories and ate lollies till they were sick. At school, they spent nearly every free moment with each other, but now it was changing. Ron and Hermione were getting closer so Harry would find himself with a lot of time. He used to write to Sirius when things got tough for him. He had helped him a lot last year when he was having trouble with his friends or with the toad woman, Umbridge. Now he was gone, Harry didn't know how he was going to cope. He didn't feel close to anybody now and Sirius had practically been a father to him. Everyone was moving on with their lives and was feeling left behind. Harry was brought out from his deep thoughts when he heard someone side open the door.

"Good summer Harry?" it was Neville Longbottom. He had become taller over the summer holidays and finally grown into his gangly limbs. His hair was wind swept and he was sporting a very flushed look. Harry nodded in acknowledgement as Neville sat down opposite him.

"So what's got you looking like that aye Neville?" He smiled and winked as the boy across from him squirmed in his seat and looked outside at the passing country side, blush forming. 'Since when did I start taking delight in making people uncomfortable? God, Hermione is right! I might turn out like Snape' he shuddered as he imagined himself being compared to that git. 'Two more years and I wont have to see him again'. Harry turned his attention back to his dorm mate only to find him slipping out the door, following…Luna Lovegood? 'When did that happen?' he thought, 'Even Neville has someone'. He sighed and went back to his thoughts. 'It's not like I can get close to somebody anyway. I'll most likely be dead by the end of the year, and there is no way I am going back to the Dursleys!' He'd had enough of their abuse. Although his Aunt would never physically hurt him, she tried to ignore him as best she could. But over the years Vernon's fists had come down harder and harder on him and it was becoming more difficult to keep people from seeing the results he left. Luckily, he was a fast healer and the bruises would be gone after a week at Hogwarts.

After about an hour of being left to his thoughts, he started getting bored and pulled out a text book from his trunk. 'Hermione will be proud' he thought and started to read his potions journal.

"Like that's going to help, Potter." someone sneered from the door. He sighed and looked up at the person who had disturbed his reading. Malfoy stood, leaning on the frame of the door with a smug expression on his face. "Do you really think a bit of reading is going to help? Your shit at potions Potter, you might as well give up now and go kill yourself."

"Go away, Malfoy." Sighed Harry and went back to reading his book. Malfoy stared at him intently, 'Why is he not taunting me back? Why are we not shooting hexes at each other? Why is he ignoring me?' He walked inside the compartment and sat down opposite the unusually quite boy. Sitting there with a smirk on his face, he waited for Harry to acknowledge his presence. After a few minutes, Malfoy began to get impatient. He let out an over exaggerated sigh. Harry huffed and looked up.

"Is there something you wanted, Malfoy?" asked Harry, looking annoyed.

"Nope." He stated and continued to smirk at him.

"Then would you mind leaving? I can't be bothered with you today" Harry snapped his book shut, placing it next to him and stared out the window intently. Malfoy was taken back by this. There was no trace of the usually confident boy whom everybody loved, 'The Chosen One'. Something was wrong with him, but Malfoy couldn't quite put his finger on it. 'It's not like I care though' he thought as he looked over at the boy before him. He looked so sad when he thought no one was watching. Malfoy sighed,

"What's wrong Potter?" he asked. Harry turned and looked over at him with an odd expression on his face. They stared at each other for a few moments before he finally spoke.

"What are you doing, Malfoy? I asked you to leave." He sent a glare at Harry and and spoke.

"Because I'm bored and being mean to you has become a hobby I've grown fond of over the years" he sneered, before adding "Plus, my friends are all busy. So I'm going to ask you again, Potter. What's wrong?" Harry sighed. He wasn't going to be able to get out of this one; And Malfoy obviously did not take well to being ignored.

"Nothing, okay. I'm just tired" '…and I have a great urge to slit my wrists' he added mentally. The Slytherin eyed him closely. He could tell that was not the reason, but he let it pass. He would find out what was wrong with Harry, but he would have to do so discreetly. It wouldn't do well for his fellow house mates seeing him worrying about the precious Gryffindor. Harry's eyes narrowed into slits as he looked at Malfoy "Why do you care anyways? Don't you have some poor first years to go beat up?"

"You know, contrary to popular belief, I'm not actually that bad. I do have some restraint… I limit myself to one victim per day. " he smiled at the thought before adding," And today I have chosen you, so stop being such a poof and hex me back" and with he sent a tongue tying curse at Harry. Harry was startled at the sudden action, but quickly hid it and pretended he didn't care. He picked up his book, and started reading, ignoring the look of annoyance the other boy was shooting at him. Malfoy was stunned, not even one tiny reaction from Potter. He was just sitting there acting as if nothing had happened. He huffed and stalked out of the compartment muttering comments that sounded like "how dear he ignore me!" and slammed the door shut. Harry just sat there and smiled behind his book. 'I think that makes the score at Potter: 1, Malfoy: 0.'

As the train pulled up the the station, he hauled his trunk onto the platform. He hadn't seen Ron or Hermione for the whole trip and was beginning to worry. He was just about to start asking around when he heard a familiar sound behind. He turned around to find his two best friends standing there sheepishly and looking very guilty, both with swollen lips. Ron's hair was messed up; bits of ginger sticking up and making him look thoroughly shagged. Hermione's shirt was slightly crinkled and the buttons on her shirt were not matched up with its appropriate pair.' Three guesses what they've been up to' he thought to himself. They climbed into an empty carriage and made their way up the drive way to the castle. There were a few minutes of awkward silence before Harry decided to speak up.

"So…" Harry mumbled, "Prefect duties go okay?" They two bedraggled pair quickly glanced at each other, having a silent conversation before Ron spoke up.

"Huh? Oh yeah mate. We were helping out the first years and kinda lost track of time. I hope you weren't too lonely without us" he chuckled and lightly punched his friend on the arm.

"Sure…" he said sceptically "No, I wasn't lonely. Malfoy came and sat with me for awhile and we had a lovely little chat" Harry knew what was going on between his friends and was angry that they had decided to keep him in the dark instead of telling him. Ron's smile faulted at the mention of Malfoy's name.

"What did that git want?" He asked Harry angrily. Anger rose inside of Harry at this. At least he had tried to comfort him, unlike his friends who would rather be shagging instead of being with him. Malfoy had actually seemed sincere when asking Harry if he was okay.

"Oh nothing, nothing" Harry replied sarcastically, "He sat with me and we had a good talk, right before he hexed me. But you know what? At least he was there for me, unlike you two who avoided me for the whole day and then hide things from me?" Harry let out an angry sigh and stalked up to the castle, without his friends. He made his way through the doors of the entrance way, by passing the great hall and proceeded to the Gryffindor common room. He didn't feel like seeing anybody, and he wasn't hungry, so there was no need for him to go to the start of feast. He walked up the stairs to the sixth year boy's dormitory, seeing his trunk already there he went over and grabbed out his pyjamas. Once he had finished changing out of his robes clothes he he clambered into his four posted bed and drew the curtains; putting a locking charm on them so that if anybody tried to open them, they would be unsuccessful. After casting a silencing spell around him, he conjured a knife and began to drag it over his already marked arm. Blood started to seep its way down and drip onto the bed covers, but he didn't care. He continued to mark his skin, cutting harshly until he felt all of the stress from that day leave his body. He cast a quick cleaning spell, making the blood on his sheets disappear, leaving no trace of his actions. He then went on to cast a concealing charm on his body; the bruises from his uncle being hidden from the public eye and his own transgressions being concealed. He looked down at his new smooth skin and traced a finger over where his scars used to be, but at the touch, he found it to be ridged. The scars hidden from view, but not by touch. Harry smiled at this; He didn't want to get rid of his scars, but knew he had to. If anyone saw, he would be in serious trouble and then he would never be left alone. Having the scars there reminded himself of who he was. They meant something to him. They reminded him that he had control over his life. He would do what he wanted to himself and that he would not be manipulated by anyone. And with those last conscious thoughts Harry drifted off to sleep, relaxing in his last moments of peace he would have before the pressure of school, friends and enemies over took him.


	3. Just Fake It

**Abused in ****Solitude**

The next morning when Harry awoke, the dorm was hectic. As Harry opened the curtains shielding his bed from the outside world, he found his dorm mates rushing about like head-less chickens. He looked over to the far side of the room to find Seamus throwing clothes and other objects out of his trunk. Dean was standing at his bed chucking books into his bag at a rapid pace while Neville was watering a plant on the window sill, muttering to himself about something, '_Most likely giving himself a pep talk to not freak out when he sees Snape_' Harry mused at the thought, then continued to study his room. So much noise...so many people. He sighed out loud, '_Well. There goes the end of my privacy_' at the sudden noise, Ron turned to him to him with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Harry. We have five minutes to have our books ready and be at breakfast or Hermione will blow her nut." Ron abruptly turned towards the door, picking up his bag in the process and strode out the door. '_I guess he's still mad at me for last night, the stupid git_' Harry thought as he watched his friend leave without him. The rest of his dorm mates followed suit and left straight after Ron, leaving Harry alone in silence. Walking over to his trunk he grabbed out his robes and laid them on his bed, and proceeded to the bathroom to have a quick shower. He stripped and entered the cubical. The tiles feeling cold on his feet as turned the water on as hot as it would go. Harry stood under the scolding water, letting it burn his skin until it felt raw and numb. He just stood there swaying slightly, oblivious to his surroundings, just letting the water wash over him. His initial five minute shower turned into an hour before he finally realised he had been zoning out and shut the water off. Passing by the mirror he stopped and stared at himself. Studying his body intently and prodding at his ribs. '_Shit, I'm getting pretty skinny_' he thought as he remembered what had transpired over the holidays. He ran a finger over his ribs and making his way down to his clearly defined hip bones. He still hadn't eaten more than a slice of bread and an apple for the past month. He would feel slightly faint sometimes but would r=the feeling would be gone after a few minutes and a glass of water. The Dursleys had seemed quite happy at Harry's lack of appetite; meaning more food for their "Darling Dudders", not that he needed it. He continued to stare for a few minutes until he heard a noise coming from the dorm. He quickly replaced his glamour charm that had faded from the night before and walked into the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. Harry expected to see one of his friends, telling him to hurry for breakfast. He paused in mid walk thinking about the time.

"Shit!" he cried aloud and ran to change into his school robes, thinking up an excuse for why he was late to class. He had just started packing his bag full of books when he finally noticed Hedwig sitting on his bed side table. He grabbed the letter from her beak and pattered her on the head before she flew away to the owlery. '_Weird. Why would someone be sending a letter right now?_' his question was answered when he tore open the letter which reviled a note with long elegant writing.

'_Harry. I must say that it is a pleasure to have you back here at Hogwarts once again and that you were missed at the welcoming feast last night and breakfast this morning. Your Miss Granger and Mr Wesaley looked a bit out of sorts. I'm sure you have a good reason for missing your first class this morning, but i would invite you not to be late to your next class as Professor Snape does not take lightly to tardiness. I would be pleased if you would join me after dinner this evening so we can have a little chat. Have a good day, my boy, and i shall see you this evening. Professor Dumbledore. PS: I like peppermint impfs.'_

Harry stared down at the note curiously. '_I wonder how he knew I was here...It's a bit unnerving when I think about it. I wonder what he wants to talk about. No doubt training on "How to Defeat a Dark Lord 101_" _or to pry in on my private life, as usual._ 'Harry sighed heavily and glanced over at the clock on his side table. _'10.37. that means I've nearly missed my double period in History of Magic. Why the hell do they even have that subject so early in the morning, or at all?_' he lay down on his bed and decided to rest for a few minutes before second period, '_I've got 20 minutes, I'll be fine_'.

Harry woke up feeling slightly more refreshed than before and looked over at the clock. It now said '11.24' Harry paled slightly and jumped up, cursing himself. Feeling the blood rush to his head he instantly felt dizzy and started to sway a bit. Grabbing on to the bed post closest to him he steadied himself, composed his thoughts and rushed down stairs out of the common room. He ran through the castle, his shoes making a loud thumping noise as he sprinted towards the dungeons. He hoped he wasn't too late, remembering what happened to the last student who had decided to skip Snape's class. He was given a detention and made to test first year's potions. He was then sent to the infirmary and couldn't leave the hospital wing for a week. He stopped at the dungeon door leading into the class room and caught his breath. He opened the door cautiously and slinked into the class. He looked around to find no Snape, but all the students at their benches working on separate potions. He walked over to his usual spot next to Ron to find it already occupied by Neville. Ron looked over at him as Harry gave him a weak smile. Trying to look as if he was happy and trying to apologise. In reality he wished he could be anywhere but here and was far from happy, not to mention he had absolutely no intention of apologising to his friends. He was still angry at them for lying to him. When he realised he had been staring at him for too long, Ron furrowed his eyebrows and shot Harry a look. Taken back at the harshness he found in his friends eyes he staggered to the very back of the class room, hoping to just be left alone. He set up his cauldron and got out his potions journal, looked up at the board and went to collect the required ingredients from the storage room. After making his way to the back of the class room and setting up his ingredients he began crush his porcupine quill into a fine powder. He had his cauldron simmering nicely and was just about to add his crushed quills when he felt some looming behind him. Then a silky voice lent in close and spoke into his left ear.

"Nice of you to join us Mr Potter. I hope my class didn't interrupt your plans with your fan club too much. Detention with me on Friday, Eight o'clock sharp" Harry had tensed at the sudden presence of his professor and didn't release until Snape was at the front of the class. But when he looked up, he saw Snape staring at him with an evil look in his eye and a smirk on his face. He was just about to think of what that look could mean when Snape bellowed out, with a humorous tone.

"Oh and Potter. 50 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness." The rest of his house started to protest, but shut up as soon as they caught sight of the glare their professor sent them, almost daring them to challenge his authority. They class became silent and they and they went back to brewing their potions, the only sound left were the muffled laughs of the Slytherins and the soft bubbling of their potions. Harry just sighed. Not really caring about the loss of points or the detention he had just acquired. Now that everyone had calmed down and the attention brought off him, he decided it would be a good to get on with his potion. He added the crushed porcupine quills and stirred counter-clock wise for tree minutes before adding four caster beans and a shrivelfig. He then had to wait while it simmered for 39 minutes before adding the last ingredient. Harry sat patiently for the first five minutes but then started to fidget. They bell had just gone and his class mates were filling out of the room. Finally, Harry was the only one left in the class and could brew his potion in peace...along with Professor Snape. He was starting to get bored and still had 30 minutes to wait, so started to doodle on a spare bit of parchment. Harry was so absorbed in his picture that he didn't even notice a shadowy figure stalking towards him. His drawing was nearly finished.

"How charming, do you often draw figures of death in you spare time, Potter?" droned Snape. Harry was startled at the voice of his professor that he fell off his seat. Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I'm surprised he made it into sixth year" Harry's annoyance rose at this.

"Actually Professor, if you would care to look, my potion is nearly finished coming along nicely. I'm not as incompetent as you think." Snape was surprised; he hadn't expected to get a rise out of the boy this fast. He had many taunts saved up for this occasion and was hoping to use them. He had been observing the boys behaviour in class and noticed he had been incredibly quiet, not that he was complaining. Harry looked at the set timer and saw it was time to add the last ingredient. He carefully sprinkled the shredded wormwood over the potion and started a continuous stir slowly for 15 minutes. He was wary of the fact that his potions master was standing in front of him, but did his best to ignore him. Snape stood there just watching him for several minutes before speaking up.

"So what's your poor excuse for being late to my class?" Harry looked up at the man in front of him, who was standing there with a smirk on his face. '_One day I'm gonna hex that bloody look off his face' _he promised himself before responding.

"I...umm..." He thought about what his teacher's reaction would be if he knew the truth. '_Oh nothing sir, I just stood in the shower for over an hour whilst realising that I look like a walking skeleton and fell asleep. Nothing major' _"I don't have one sir, I was just late." He murmured. Snape looked shocked at Harry's politeness, but soon hid it before he could notice.

"Well next time, be prompt. Then I won't have to waste my time watching you make a potion we both know you will fail." Harry sighed, nodded and went back to stirring. Snape knew there was something wrong with the boy. He was quiet, controlled and not jumping at the chance to spar with him. The boy looked sad, and he had no idea why, '_I will_ _have to send in a spy'. _The potion was complete and Harry studied it absentmindedly while Snape looked disbelievingly at it. He had brewed it correctly. The liquid inside the cauldron was now sunshine yellow. Snape collected himself and put on a bored expression.

"Elixir to induce euphoria" he peered already knowing that it had been brewed perfectly, but not wanting Harry to know, he put on his best sneer and criticizing it.

"You got the yellow _almost_ right, but that's the extent of it. The potion is meant to smell sweet, but yours seems incredibly dull by comparison and no doubt it will taste revolting. I am also going to assume that you didn't see fit to add peppermint sprigs to counter act the other ingredients, nullifying the side effects so that whoever is unfortunate enough to ingest this horrid potion will suffer from constant nose twitching and excessive singing for hours." Harry stood utterly astounded, but not trusting his voice he just nodded his head and began packing up and bottling his potion. By the time Harry was finished his cleaning Snape had made his way to his desk and started writing comments on student's papers. Harry made his way out of the room and began walking to his next class. Students still milling around, enjoying their last minutes of break before class restarted. He had 4 minutes before his next class opened and thought it would be a good idea to get there early considering he had been late for most of the day.

Harry stood outside the transfiguration class room, leaning on the wall. He watched as students scurried past him, all in their own little worlds and paying no attention to Harry. 'Just how I like it.' He sighed resting his head against the concrete wall behind him. 'If I died, no one would notice...they prob-'His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone gasping nearby.

"Harry!" He opened his eyes and stared at the perpetrator. Hermione rushed over to him, enveloping him in a hug. She didn't notice him wince at the sudden contact. Hermione squeezed him tightly before releasing him, but kept one hand on his shoulder. "I've been so worried about you! You ran off last night and we didn't see you at dinner. Then this morning you missed breakfast, Ron said you were coming, but then you missed first period. Where were you? "She shook her head not even giving him time to answer, before adding" No never mind, just tell me later." Then she walked briskly into the newly opened room, leaving Harry standing there shocked as students started rushing into class.

Transfiguration was a strained affair as Ron was not talking to him and going out of his way to ignore Harry. Neville sat between them looking uncomfortable. It might have been then glares Ron sent at Harry, thinking they were for him or it could have been the comment Harry made yesterday on the train. But whatever it was, Neville looked like he would happily trade his seat for one next to Malfoy then sit between the two hostile teenagers.

When class finally finished the trio walked out of class and headed towards the great hall for lunch. Harry wasn't hungry, but knew if Hermione didn't see him eat something she would start asking questions, '_and I __**defiantly**__ don't want that.'_ They arrived at the table and saw their years mates, most of who greeted Harry with a smile or a nod. Sitting down, Ron piled a variety of foods on his plate and started shovelling it into his mouth. Harry and Hermione just stared at him in disgust. Ron noticed his friends had gone silent and looked at them, confused.

"What?" Ron stated, mouth half full of food. Harry looked away, not really wanting to see down his friend's throat. He heard the swift sound of someone slapping an arm and a gasp.

"Ouch! What was that for 'Mione?" he looked over to see Ron rubbing his arm. Harry snorted as Hermione went on to berate Ron about his eating habits.

"Honestly Ron, would it kill to you eat like a civilised human being instead of a savage? And I've already told you not to call me "'Mione", _Ronald_" She stretched out his full name as to get her point across. Ron paused, grabbing a napkin and placing it on his lap, before picking up his utensils and cutting his food delicately. The newly re-formed boy then spoke in the classiest voice he could muster up.

"Of course my dear, how could I forget my manners?" he stuck up his nose in a posh manner, one that would be formidable even against Malfoy. "After all, we are civilised savages here" The whole Gryffindor table exploded into laughter at Ron's joke, while the rest of the hall just turned to stare. Hermione crossed her arms, muttering under her breath while Harry just grabbed for some more pumpkin juice. As time went on, students from all houses left the hall to pursue their own entertainment for the remainder of lunch. There was about ten minutes before the trios next class; charms.

"Harry, you've been sitting here all lunch and haven't eaten a thing" Harry was about to protest, but was interrupted by Ron.

"Yeah mate. And you've barely said two words to us. I know I've been a bit of a git today, but it just kinda hurt when you compared me to Malfoy. I mean Honestly, Do you really think Malfoy could be a better friend than me?" announced Ron as he flexed his muscles but squeaked when Hermione poked him in his sides.

"What muscle man here is trying to say is he's sorry and that we are worried about you. Please Harry can you just talk to us? Tell us what you're feeling. I told you over the summer that muggle psychiatrists get their patients to talk about thoughts and feelings."

"Yeah mate, just think about Snape. Don't want to turn out like that git." Hermione glared at Ron, but said nothing about it and continued on speaking.

"It's also been proven to be very effective when dealing with depression-"

"I'm not depressed" Harry snapped.

"Okay...But I still think it would be best for you to talk to someone, maybe Dumbledore?"

"No Hermione. I'm not going to talk to Dumbledore and nor are you. I'm not depressed and even if I was, it wouldn't be anyone's business, so let it go." And with that he stalked out the hall, ignoring the calls of his friends and continued at a fast pace out the main entrance. He marched towards the lake and walked along the shore, not caring that he would be missing his last two classes for the day. Harry continued to walk until he found himself on the opposite side from we're he started. He sat down under a willow tree, just observing his surroundings. The sun was out heating the lake, making it warm and inviting. Deciding to go for a swim he stripped down to his underwear and jumped in. The water caressing every part of his body as he swam out farther, breathing becoming more constricted as he started to feel light headed. A sharp pain shot through his body and settled in his stomach. He gasped at the pain and brought his legs up to his chest, only to get a face full of water and nearly choke. The pain pulsing around his body and the water seeping into his lungs all became too much for him, so he let go and succumbed to the darkness.


	4. Spontaneous Confession

Draco had a free period this afternoon; His father had come forth and told Dumbledore his son was to be excused from that subject. "_I will not have my son being taught by some savage idiot! Malfoys deserve the best and you are obviously not providing that. I want Draco withheld from _Care of Magical Creatures!_" _ After the incident in third year with that stupid hippogriff Draco had been terrified to even go back. He skipped that particular class for the rest of year, not that he was overly worried about the subject anyways. He didn't particularly like animals and once that "Bloody chicken" attacked him, it just another nail in the coffin against the horrible beasts. The school had contacted his father saying he would be expelled if he continued to miss classes; so naturally his father stepped in and demanded he be excused from that horrible class. Ever since that day, while the other students were in class, Draco would just escape the expectations that everyone imposed on him and be himself. He would walk around the lake, enjoying the fact that he could be alone, left to think.

The students of Hogwarts had departed for class, leaving one boy walking across the grounds of the school towards the lake. The sun shinned brightly as Draco started on his walk. He really did enjoy this free period; he may not like animals but he loved to be in nature. Most people thought he was just some rich kid whose parents gave him everything he wanted, not really appreciating the small things in life. They all believed that he wanted nothing more than to serve the dark lord and most of all that he hated Harry Potter; with a passion. The former was completely true. His parents had always spoiled him, providing him with everything he wanted; but over the years he found that it didn't make him happy. The latter was far from the truth. Since he had started walking almost every day, he had time to think without the worry of the other Slytherins watching him. He had never really wanted to be a Death Eater; maybe when he was younger, but that was only so he could make his father proud. And he would be lying if he said he hated Harry Potter. Growing up, hearing stories about the great 'Boy Who Lived', Draco had immediately wanted to be his friend, but Harrys refusal at his hand demolished any friendship they could have had. He had been discontented by this at first, and then became spiteful and started lashing out at Harry, but as the years clocked away he got over it. He really did like Harry; never classing him as a friend, but as someone worth knowing.

Draco had been walking for about half an hour; looking but not seeing anything, just relishing the feeling of being himself. Many thoughts buzzing around in his mind; school work, his 'friends', some girls he had a crush on and Harry. '_He was acting really strange on the train yesterday. Normally he retaliates to the banter; I call him a _Gryffindork_ and he calls me a..._bloody ferret' He shuddered at the thought, memories coming back of those horrible minutes he spent as an animal, _'another reason I hate the bloody things and that nutter, Moody_.' Draco stopped to sit down briefly, watching the giant squid submerge from the water only to dive back down again, '_Looks like someone's having fun_' chuckling to himself he stood up and continued his walk along the bank of the lake. Drifting back to his thoughts,_' I wonder what is wrong with Harry though... He really did seem like...sad actually, when I think about it. And I swear I heard Goyle say that he and his friends got into a fight at lunch, not to mention he nearly skipped potions; and no _sane_ person would ever do that. But I still-' _his thoughts ceased as he noticed a small continuous splashing, not too far out from shore.' _What the bloody hell is that?' _he continued to stare at it as he walked along the bank, wondering. It wasn't until he saw a human hand splash out of the water that he halted in mid-step. 'Holy_ crap, there's someone drowning! What the hell am I meant to-_' the thought had accrued and before he even noticed his actions he had already stripped down to his underwear andwas sprinting to the water, post haste. All thought the sun had warmed up the shallow parts of the water, the further he wadded out, the colder it became. He was still a few metres away from the struggling swimmer, who had gone limp by this time; making Draco more urgent with his rescue mission, '_Harry would be proud_.' He shook his head, '_One thing at a time, Draco. Save people first, and then think about the boy hero_.' His mind was jolted back into reality as he felt the legs of another brush against his. He was alarmed at how cold they were; and not from the arctic like waters, but the lack of oxygen. He grabbed the un-known swimmer around their waist and promptly lifted them out of the water. He perceived the unconscious person to be a guy from his year, but he had no idea who the bloke was. All he noticed in the brief over look was that he had pale blue lips; due to nearly drowning, dark dishevelled hair clinging to his face and that he was incredibly skinny. Draco struggled back to shore, dragging the boys limp body behind him.

He finally approached shore, utterly exhausted and hauled the boy onto the bank. He sank to the ground, kneeling beside the unconscious boy and held his head to his heart. He heard a faint beat, but it was so faint Draco fared he might have been too late. Grabbing out his wand he raised it above the boy's chest.

"Enervate!" the un-known boy's eyes shot open and he coughed up the water that had been constricting his breath. Draco sighed in relief and collapsed next the boy only just realising he had been holding his breath in wait. Closing his eyes trying to get over the initial shock he waited until the boy in question spoke up first. He laid there in silence, his body aching from being pushed to its limit. Draco was exhausted, but he knew he had to make sure his companion was Okay. Slowly rising off the ground he glanced over at the boy lying next to him. He was just laid there shaking and breathing deeply, hands over his face as he cried. '_Oh shit. I couldn't even handle it when Pansy cried so how the fuck am I gonna comfort a bloody dude?_' he felt his face flush as he offered a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey...it's alright mate. Ugh...you know, when I was younger, I fell in my families fish pond and... That was pretty scary" Patting the other boy's back he was glad to feel some warmth seeping back into his skin, but he felt _incredibly _awkward.' _Way to go Draco, just compare his traumatic experience to a bloody swim with the fishes_'. The boy went to speak, but his voice was small and raw.

"T-thanks, Draco." Draco's eyes widened and his head shot up. He observed the quiet boy next to him who was so withdrawn from the world. _'Shit! Is that-'_

"Harry?" Draco had many things he wanted to ask the Harry, but was confused as to why he was even out here in the first place, and drowning at that.

"Yeah, I- thanks." He jumped up giving Draco no time to stop him and stalked towards some gloomy looking trees. '_Well that was odd_', he thought and rose to follow him.

"Ha- Potter! Where are you going?"

"Away from you, Malfoy! I appreciate your concern, but it's not needed nor wanted. Now fuck off and go plot my death, or something." Draco was taken back at his harshness in Harry's voice. Even when they threw insults at each other, they were never said with such contemptment. Draco continued walking closer until he heard the boy growl and stopped.

"Harry-"

"Don't. Just go away" he huffed and started pulling on clothes he had dropped earlier. Harry dressed himself making Draco recognize his own lack of clothes. He blushed when he saw Harry looking at him with an odd expression, but saw a bit of humour behind his shadowed frown, and Draco swore he saw a smirk from the boy as he sat down.

"You think is funny? I'm bloody freezing after saving your Gryffindork arse"

"Yeah I do actually. _The Great Draco Malfoy_, caught out in his knickers" and gave a stifled laugh as Draco huffed at his patronizing tone.

"For you information, these aren't "knickers" Harry, they are _briefs. _There is a BIG difference. Not that you would know would you, it's not like a girl would ever let you in her pants" he smirked at his remark. He knew he was probably wrong, but this was just healthy banter. But when Harry looked away and became silent, Draco's smirk faulted. "Are you serious? You, Harry fucking Potter. The Great Golden Boy and you've never-"

"No." Harry cut off.

"Oh. Well umm..." he looked over the lake, Hogwarts directly across from them, but like a small dolls house. "Sorry Harry."

"It's fine. Hang on..." Harry, who had been focusing on anything but Draco suddenly turned, frowning at him with a confused expression.

"When have you ever called me Harry? We don't even like each other." Draco sighed. There was no point in hiding the truth from him, '_And when will I ever get an opportunity like this ever again?_'

"I...ugh. That is to say...I-I,"

"Come Malfoy, out with it!" the skinny boy huffed.

"Well I sorta don't hate you... I actually rather like you." Harry gave him a stunned look, eyes widening while his eyebrows disappeared behind his wet hair. Draco didn't think his confession demanded that sort of look. Then it hit him. "Not like that!" Draco waved his hands around like a madmen, trying to convince him otherwise before he stated firmly, "I'm not gay. All I meant was that I like you, _as a friend_, even if you don't like me back." He gave the boy next to him a small smile, but Harry still looked stunned.

"Malfoy-"

"You can call me Draco" he said shyly. Harry sighed, but complied.

"_Draco_" he pressed," Look. I'm flattered by this, but..." he paused, trying to think of the nicest way possible to let the blonde boy down." It's just that we have never liked each other. You're a Slytherin and I was a Gryffindor. We-"he would have continued, had Draco not cut him off mid-sentence.

"Was?"

"Yes. I'm still convinced that I died and am just biding my time until I'm sent to hell"

Draco leaned over and pinched Harry on the arm. He cried out and rubbed the now red spot, then slapped the offender back.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

"For pinching me, you bloody git!"Draco smiled at Harry's scowl.

"I was only helping to convince you that you are in fact _alive_" laughed Draco, but despite the warmth he was now feeling, it dissolved as Harry's face fell.

"Well thanks. That makes me feel _so much_ better." Harry said gloomily.

"Harry, you can tell me if something is wrong." He edged closer to the dark headed boy, laying a hand on his shoulder, but Harry shrugged it off.

"And how do I know you won't just go running off to your Death Eater friends and telling them about my lack of mental state huh?" Harry looked as if he had gone too far, soon as the words were out of his mouth and gave Draco a quick apology.

"I'm not a Death Eater Harry. I never have been and I never will." He stated and looked him dead in the eye and put on his best gay voice, "Besides, have you seen what they wear? Ugh, utterly tacky." This statement caused Harry burst put with laughter, making him laugh in the process. This had been the only true emotion Draco had seen from him since last year.

The clothed boy stood up and stretched out his limbs, with Draco following suit. Again realizing he was barely clothed when compared to Harry.

"Umm..." Harry smiled over at the partially naked boy beside him, struggling to find words in this seemingly awkward situation but then doubled over in fits of laughter. Draco looked put out as Harry continued to laugh at him and covered himself up with his hands.

"God, you look absolutely ridiculous standing there in your _knickers_!" teased Harry and shouldered off his school cloak and passed it to him. "Here. You can wear this till we find your clothes." The duo started walking back along the bank towards the castle, keeping their eyes peeled for any random bits of clothing floating about. They walked in a comfortable silence, until it was broken by gasp and then a protest when the blonde boy finally realized what exactly he was wearing.

"Harry! This is a Gryffindor cloak I'm not gonna be caught dead in this! What if someone sees me? Oh shit! Imagine if Snape caught us. I can only imagine how low your precious house would be in points" Harry shot him a half hearted glare at the mention of house points

"Well you've been wearing it since we started walking _so_ unless you want to freeze you balls off I suggest you keep it on. Also, where the hell is your clothes? We should have found them by now." Draco nodded in agreement, wanting to keep his balls secured and intact. '_I do have to produce an heir' _he thought and chuckled to himself.

The castle was fast approaching and they could see a few students enjoying their last moments of free time before curfew called them away. '_Shit. I missed all my afternoon classes_' they stopped short of exiting the shrubbery as Harry had pulled on the sleeve of his robe.

"Actually, I've decided you can keep my cloak Draco. I won't miss it...and I swear to god if you return it to me, I will just burn it." Harry smiled at him and they continued to walk over the grounds.

"You know, I thought today was gonna be pretty boring. Then I end up saving your life and spending the afternoon with you, half naked"

"Careful Draco" he smiled and continued, "You're not really helping the whole "_I'm not gay_" case are you. You actually sound like you enjoyed it" and winked at him. Draco laughed out loud and pushed Harry away playfully. He didn't hear the faint gasp from someone up ahead, but he did catch Harry wincing at the physical contact.'_ That's weird'_

"Shut up, you twat! I know you enjoyed it too. And-" he paused, deciding it was now or never,"I like the way you make me feel..." Harry shot him a knowing smirk; again Draco noticed his mistake," Ugh! Not like that, you tosser! You know what I mean. I feel like I can be myself around you... and why do you always think I'm hitting on you or something? Fuck, that's like, what? twice in the last few hours."

"Actually Draco, we were talking for hours. You know it's nearly dinner right?"

"Draco? Since when have you too been on a first name basis, huh?" Ron came barging up towards the duo and stood tall in front of Draco, using his height as a form of intimidation. Anger clearly heard in his voice made Harry jump in the middle of the two boys to try and stop the fight about to break out between them.

"Ron-"


	5. A Fate Almost Condemned

"Back off Weasel-Bee. I didn't hear Harry objecting, did you?" snapped Draco with a smirk he was clearly not trying to hide. Hermione had come to stand next to Ron; hand on his arm, ready to counteract any sudden movements from both parties.

"Harry, why the fuck are you hanging around with this git? I- is that your robe he's wearing?" Ron demanded. His eyes wild and he grabbed for his wand and jerked it towards Draco.

"Ron stop it. Now!" Harry cried.

"No! Harry, what the hell is going on with you? You've been acting strange ever since you got back! You won't talk to us! And don't you dare deny that you put shielding charms up last night...you skipped most of your classes today and now I find that you were just out with Malfoy! We were worried sick and you just ran off after lunch, no one knew where you were!"

"I don't need you to look out for me Ron! I don't need you, any of you! I'm fine! Why the fuck can't you just leave me _alone_!"

"Because, we are your friends!" Draco just stood there taking in the scene unrolling before him. He was still standing by Harry's side, but his other two companions were ignoring him in favour for their troubled friend. '_I wonder what Weasley meant? Putting up shields? You only do that when you have something big to hide. I better keep a close eye on my new friend._" Deep in thought, Draco had missed most of the argument, only to catch Harry as he stormed up the castle.

"Dumbledore wants to see me and I won't be back till late, so don't bother waiting up." He glared at his friends, and then surprised them when he turned to Draco and gave him a quick nudge on the shoulder, "See you later Draco. Remember what I said" and offered him a small smile. Draco happily accepted it and gave one in return, chuckling as he said his goodbye.

"Night Harry, and don't worry, I won't." and winked at him. Once their friend was out of earshot the two Gryffindor's turned to the lone Slytherin.

"What the hell was that Malfoy" Ron spat out. Draco gave him a standard Malfoy sneer that would make his father proud and ground out the politest reply he could at the time.

"Nothing that is of concern to you, Weasley." He nodded his head towards the unusually quiet girl and walked the remainder of the way to the castle. He quickly headed down towards the dungeons. Hoping he would not be caught in red crested robes instead of his standard green. Luckily all students were at dinner, so he made it to his private dorm without hassle. While Draco changed into his own robes, he made an executive decision to have a quick dinner in the Great Hall just to keep up with appearances' and then wait for Harry outside Dumbledore's office. '_I need to know what is going on with that boy. He needs help, and if his idiot friends aren't up to it, then I defiantly am going to do my best to help him!_'

Harry walked up the stairs up to Dumbledore's office. He knew that the man would still be at dinner, so he would just wait for him to come back. Harry didn't want to have to face everybody yet, he had wanted to put it off as long as possible and then Ron and Hermione come and ambush him when he was starting to actually enjoy talking to someone. Draco didn't push him like everybody else; he had offered comfort and a keen ear, but no pressure. '_He was really funny actually. I haven't laughed like that in a long time...not to mention he saved my life, but it would have made things easier for me if he had not found me.' _He sighed at this thought. Nobody would have even known he was in there, and the one time he had come close to his goal, he had been dragged back again; literary.

"Enter." Harry was drawn back as he heard the old man's voice from within the room and went to open the door. He found Dumbledore sitting at his desk with a big smile on his face, "Harry, my dear boy. How are you? You were not present at dinner so I suspected you to be here. I did say _after_ dinner, didn't I? Oh well, I expect you to be hungry after the busy day you've had." He peered over his half-moon spectacles, brilliant bright blue eyes x-raying Harry as he shuffled forward with a guilty expression.

"Actually sir, I didn't go to most of my classes today. I-I wasn't feeling well."

"Ah, I see. So you saw fit to spend the day out in nature. I quiet agree, it was a rather beautiful day today, and nature is what purifies ones soul when it becomes heavy with burden" He offered Harry some tea, which he declined, along with biscuits which he also turned down.

"I don't mean to seem rude Professor, but what was the reason you wanted to speak to me about? I am rather tired."

"Of course my boy, of course. The reason I called you here tonight was for two things in particular. The first was just to check up on you to see how you were coping-"

"I assure you Professor, I'm fine." Harry cut off as respectfully as he could.

"Yes, yes." He agreed, but had no twinkle in his eye, he looked almost sad. "And the second was to tell you that I have spoken to Professor Snape and he has agreed to tutor you in _Defence against the Dark Arts_ to help bring you up to a higher level. After Professor Umbridge last year, all the student's grades have dropped and it won't do well for you to be below in the very thing you need to defeat Voldemort with. He will also tutor you in potions twice a week; your defence lessons being three times a week. You will, of course, have to talk with Professor Snape about what days these lessons will occur, but I trust you to that" He smiled brightly at Harry as he said all this. Harry kept his face dormant of any emotions, just nodding when appropriate and casting a casually "OK" when it felt needed. It was not long after that, that the Headmaster released Harry to the rest of his night. Glad to be shot of the large office he sprinted down the stairs, not noticing the pair of silver eyes peering out of the shadows or the light, muffled foot- steps behind him. Noticing it was past curfew, he made his way to a bathroom on the seventh floor, which he knew to be barley used. Running towards the sanctuary as he spotted it down the corridor, he yanked the door open and walked in, slamming the door behind him. He walked over to the secluded part of the bathroom, hidden from anyone who decided to come in and sat down. Harry sat there just staring at nothing, just thoughts buzzing around from his earlier conversation with Dumbledore._' I have to spend extra time with that bloody git! Five days a week for a whole year...it's almost not worth it.' _he pulled out his wand and conjured a knife from thin air. He did nothing a first, just running his fingers across the blade. Rubbing the blade over his arms and legs, feeling the coolness against his skin, and making him shiver. He loved this feeling, it always made him feel alive and in control. It was people like Dumbledore who manipulated him into doing things he didn't want to do; running his life without his consent. He hated it! 'I hate it! I hate it! I hate you! I hate everything!' he brought the blade down hard. The crimson blood flowing instantly, splashing along the floor and is body. He continued to bring the sharp blade down on himself. Each cut making himself feel lighter and lighter. He hadn't even noticed he was sobbing aloud.

Outside, Draco had been standing at the door, waiting for Harry to come out and he would pretend they had run into each other spontaneously. He waited for five minutes, getting bored, but adamant in not leaving until his curiosity was satisfied. Then he heard a loud sob echo through the bathroom door. Draco was alarmed and yanked open the door, but found no one in his direct view of site. He walked around the room and found at the very end, one of the most horrible sites he had ever seen. Harry was lying crumpled on the floor, hand clutching a bloodied knife and surrounded by a pool of his own blood.

"Fuck!" he let out a desperate cry and rushed to Harry's side. This would be the second time today he saved this boy's life. He was on the verge of tears as he chanted an incantation the closed up the wounds created. It slowly stitched the skin back together as Draco grabbed the offending knife from the sobbing boys hand and threw it far away.

"What the bloody hell, Harry!" he cried and pulled the boy into a hug. Harry broke down into loud sobs and just cried in his Draco's arms. Feeling the warmth being past from him to Harry. 20 minutes went by and all the boys did was sit there, one crying as if his life depended on it and the other just holding onto his friend for dear life. Draco was the first to speak.

"Are you feeling better now?" Harry nodded and let go of Draco, the blonde headed boy looked all around at the puddle of blood they were sitting in. He cast a vanishing spell on the mess and got up to clean his and Harry's clothes. Once the scene was cleaned up Draco turned to Harry. "We are defiantly going to talk about this, but not tonight. You're tired, I'm tired and I don't really want to have to deal with this right now. But I'm glad I followed you, you idiot! That's twice today I've saved your arse." and gave Harry a small smile.

"Draco please don't tell anyone. Please!" Harry pleaded and Draco accepted.

"But only if you come stay in my rooms for the night...and not like that you twat!" Draco scolded at his friends knowing smile, "Just in case you try and do something stupid again, and I know you don't want to go back to your Gryffindorks tonight. I have my own rooms so it will just be you and me." Harry smiled and gave Draco a proper hug.

"Thank you Draco. We have only been friends for less than a day and already I feel grateful for you. Wow that sounds sappy."

"I know you poof. Now come on, and if we get detention I will fucking kill you, Ok." Harry nodded in agreement and they both crept out of the bathroom and headed for the dungeons, wary of any teachers lurking about trying to catch delinquent teenagers. They arrived at the Draco's door in no time, Harry checking the hallway for any teachers as Draco muttered the password, finally opening the door. Harry looked around the spacious room, eyes wide in awe.

"These are huge! This is the size of our one in Gryffindor, but I have to share with four other boys." Draco laughed lightly at his comment.

"Yes, well in Slytherin we just share with one other person, but I was fortunate enough to nab a room to myself. You can take that bed there. I've put a spare pair of pyjamas on the bed for you." Nodding, the dark headed boy walked over to the bed and took the clothes into the bathroom. Draco watched after the boy, changed into his clothes and jumped into bed. Harry entered and muttered a goodnight to Draco and climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep. Draco snuggled into his covers and thought about his day, '_Harry tried to kill himself, twice and I need to help him as much as I can. There is something horribly wrong with him and he needs to get help...maybe I should talk to Snape_ _and see what he says_? I don't know...I'll think about it in the morning..." his last thoughts vanishing from his mind as he drifted off to sleep.


	6. Days Are Beginnings

The boy's woke to the sound of some pounding on the portrait door. Harry pulled the covers from his face and endeavoured to greet the morning with a smile. He failed. No one had pulled the curtains last night after their little _episode_, so the sun was shining directly onto Harry's face and he absolutely hated it. 'The world is mocking me, I swear to Merlin it is'. Harry pulled the covers back over his head and attempted to block out the rest of the world, muffling the sounds of the continuous knocking. Draco huffed and climbed out of bed, ready to whack the person behind the door. Harry heard Draco talking to someone in angry hushed tones, so decided to stay hidden in his sheets, not that he was complaining. He really didn't want to have to face the world today.

"Well... you better get your arse out of bed. It's just gone 8:10 am and you might want to make an appearance before everyone thinks you're _actually _dead." Said Draco, as he climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. Harry lay in bed, just listening to the running water of Draco's shower and thought over the last 24 hours. '_Ron and Hermione probably hate me right now. I've skipped my classes and have extra lessons with Snape. Do I really want to get out of bed today...' _he paused to think over his options_,' Nope. Jesus! And I can't even kill myself properly someone getting in the way. Draco you bloody-',_ Harry stopped mid thought to re-think that sentence. '_Draco is the one who has helped me the most... keeping yesterday a secret. Hell! He even let me stay last night just so I wouldn't have to brave the common room and face his friends- ex friends' he corrected himself._

"Maybe he's not so bad," Harry thought out loud, not even noticing the extra person that had just sauntered into the room.

"Who's not so bad? I hope you mean me. I really do like you, ya know." Harry reddened and stuttered an explanation.

"Uh...yeah actually...just talking to myself..." and gave a nervous laugh.

"First sign of madness" Draco replied seriously. Harry stared at the other boy with wide eyes, afraid of the next acquisitioning words that would fall from his mouth. But to Harry's surprise all Draco did was burst out laughing. "I'm only kidding, just calm down, okay? And if I'm being perfectly honest, you look like shit...I think you should stay here for the day."

"Umm, yeah, okay. I think you might be right there. "

"No really, Harry. You're all clammy," and he went to place his hand on the pale boys forehead. "I don't think you should go to Madame Pomfrey, but I've got some _Pain Relief Potion _you can take". Draco walked over to his bedside draw and started remerging around looking for the vile. Harry just continued to sit on his bed watching him when a sudden thought come over him.

"Hang on...Draco, how come you have _Pain Relief Potion _in your room? Students aren't allowed to keep them outside of the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey's rules..."

"Well, you know..."

"Umm...no, I don't know,"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter and I haven't been caught yet, so..."

"Yeah well that is probably because Snape lets you get away with murder if you wanted to..." Harry's voice trailed into silence as Draco's head shot up at his accusation,"Sorry." They two boys sat in an awkward silence for a few moments before one of them spoke up.

"No, it's fine. You just need to get used to the fact that I don't hate you and try not to think I'm going to curse you when you're not looking...although I might actually curse you if you start acting like a dick", in saying this Draco started giggling at the appalled expression from his companion. They spent the next five minutes falling in and out of giggling fits before Draco made his fisrt move towards the door.

"Harry, I've got to go to class now. I skipped breakfast to be with your sorry arse, but I will come and check on you at break, okay?" Harry nodded as the blonde boy reached to open the door. Draco paused and turned to look back at his new friend," Just...be okay...please?" and left.


	7. Days Are Beginnings - Part Two

Draco's POV:

After leaving Harry in his private room, he made his way to his first class of the day; Defence against the Dark Arts with Professor Hades. The hallway was quiet, only a few lost first years running late to class, but none daring to ask the giant Slytherin for directions. When Draco arrived outside the DADA class room he paused for a second to compose himself and bring up his cold, superior demeanour for the rest of the world to see. He pushed open the door to see his class mates busy talking amiably and Professor Hades nowhere in sight. Draco let out a sigh of relief; he hadn't been particularly thrilled at the thought of having to explain why he was late and slipped into his seat near the back of the class. No one took any notice of him, a few Slytherin's nodded in his direction, but nearly everybody was engaged in conversation. He turned to talk to Blaise Zabini,

"What is everybody talking about?" The other boy looked up and smiled slyly, but before he could get an explanation, Professor Hades strode into the class and demanded the attention of his sixth year students. Blaise just shrugged and mouthed the word, 'Later' and turned to face the teacher. Draco sat back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his eyes, '_Schools only just started and already I'm tired.' _He grabbed his books from his bag and placed them on his desk, feigning interest so he wouldn't get pulled up in class and brought his head into his hands.

Throughout the class period, Draco slipped in and out of the lecture Professor Hades was giving on defensive spells, but looking around the class...he found that absolutely _no one _was listening and the teacher, who was pacing up and down the room, was so engrossed in his speech that he took no notice. This irritated Draco to no end, so he interrupted a pair of Hufflepuff's in a whispered conversation and demanded to know what the fuss was about.

"It's Harry Potter!" the nameless Hufflepuff said, "I heard some Gryffindor's say that he's been missing since yesterday and hasn't turned up for any classes. Apparently he is leaving school to go into training with skilled Auror's and learn how to defeat You-Know-Who." Draco put on his best sneer and turned away from the girls, going over all the information he had just heard, He knew that there would be some kind of up roar at Harry not attending classes today, but he could talk to Snape and see what he thinks,' _And besides, Harry will be fine tomorrow...maybe...'_. He was roused from his thoughts by the loud sound of students collecting their books and exiting the class with their Professor now sitting at his desk marking work and humming a tune to himself. Draco was half out the door when he heard a throat clear behind him.

"A bit distracted today, are we Mr. Malfoy?" Draco slowly turned on the spot and looked over at Hades but said nothing, just giving him a well practiced 'Bored' look. "Just try and at least _look _like you want to be in my class please." And with that, he turned his attention back to scribbling on scrolls.

His next class went by without a hitch. The gossip seemed to have dulled a bit and most of the students were actually paying attention instead of speculating weather 'The Chosen One' was missing because he got a serious case of Dragon Pox and died or got himself expelled for carrying illegal potions ingredients. As soon as the bell went for break, Draco made his way down to his private rooms to check on Harry. He expected to find the other boy lying about the room somewhere...but when he opened the door, he found it empty. Draco started to panic and sprinted into the room yelling Harry's name and hoping in vain that he was just in the bathroom. He sat down on his bed and started formulating a plan to find him.

"_What am I going to do? I promised to help him, but how am I meant to do that if I don't know where the fuck he is!_" Draco was verging on hysterical by now. He had come up with a plan to skip classes today until he found Harry, '_Before it's too late'_. He jumped up from his spot on the bed, ran to the door and yanked it open with full force coming face to face with one stunned Harry Potter.

"Umm...Hi."

"Where the fuck were you?" cried Draco instantly, pulling Harry into the room before anybody could see.

"I went to the kitchens. You said you missed breakfast and I was bored so I thought I would...you know...get you some..." Harry blushed at how pathetic he sounded and looked away while Draco just stood there stunned.

"Oh...well, okay then. That's nice..." The two boys stood there looking at each other, not saying anything. Draco wouldn't have known what to say anyways. He was completely stunned by the fact that Harry had gone out of his way to make sure that he was fed and happy. The moment was broken when Harry cleared his throat and went to put the food on the table. Harry set out plates with bacon n' eggs, sausages, fruits, some tarts and went to sit opposite Draco. The blonde boy immediately dug into the small feast, satisfying the hunger that he never knew was there. After a plateful of bacon and eggs and a few tarts, Draco realised he was the only one eating. Harry was sitting there, hands in his lap with his face down looking solemn. Draco frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"What? Nothing...nothing's wrong," Harry replied.

"Liar."

"No, really!" Harry protested," I'm fine."

"Yes, I definitely believe you, because you and the rest of your idiotic Gryffindor's are _so_ good at lying, especially to a dashing Slytherin like me. Mhmm...That's me convinced alright." Harry's eyes widened at comment and looked like a fish as he was stunned into silence. Draco smirked at being able to render the 'Golden Boy' speechless with his sarcasm...until he realised what it was implying.

"Oh, God! I didn't mean like that! I only-...I'm not..." Harry burst out laughing at Draco, leaving the young snake surprised.

"You look ridiculous Draco." and did an imitation of Draco flailing about on a chair.

"What! No I don't...you look ridiculous," grumbled Draco childishly and proceeded to eat a strawberry rather forcefully. Harry just continued to laugh at him while Draco polished off a few more strawberries and sat there peacefully, content in each other's company; until the bell rang for next period.

"Well I better get going," the Slytherin said awkwardly, "I won't come back at lunch...some people might start to notice I'm disappearing all the time, but I will be back after dinner and we can have it here if you like?" Draco asked hopefully. Harry nodded in reply and gave him a smile. Draco left his room feeling better than he had in awhile; hopeful and it was all because of Harry.

The rest of the day crawled by as all he wished to do was to go back to his rooms and spend time with Harry in peace; instead of pretending to be civil with the two idiots following him around like a bad smell and having Pansy through herself on him during lunch. It was just after dinner, having spent enough time in the hall and in the eye of the student body, Draco felt it would be okay for him to silently slip out of the hall and back to his rooms. The whole hall was loud with a white noise of all the students chatter; the Gryffindor's fretting over their lost mascot, the Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's coming up with insane reasons for his disappearance and the Slytherin's relishing in it. Draco excused himself from the table and made his way out of the hall, not noticing the pair of eyes following his every move. Draco was walking silently down through the dungeons thinking about his dinner date with Harry, '_Not a "date" date...just a set date to have dinner together...as friends'_ Draco convinced himself when a voice penetrated his thoughts.

"Evening, Draco. Off to bed early are we?" Draco jumped at the sudden appearance of his head of house. Snape had emerged from a dark corner in the still hall way, eyeing Draco with a curious look. "Come to my office please, I wish to have a word with you about something." Draco assumed it was about not paying attention in DADA today, so he followed Snape without a word. When they came to his office, Snape said the password and aloud Draco to enter first. The younger man sat in the chair polar his Professor and waited for him to speak; sitting in a delicate silence. Draco was starting to wonder whether the man would ever get on with it when Snape sighed, looking warn.

"Draco, I'm only going to ask you once. Where is Harry?" Draco nearly fell out of his seat, but composed himself and replied in a hard voice.

"Potter? Why would I know? He's just doing this for attention." Snape raise an eyebrow in defence and shook his head.

"Give it up Draco. I know what's going on and you know you have never been able to lie to me, so for future reference; _don't_. You two have become friends, don't deny it, I have seen you together. Yesterday as it was; very silly of you too, you almost gave yourself away. All I want to know is where he is, so I can inform the Headmaster and reassure him that he is safe and within the castles' protection." Draco's mouth formed a large O shape as he just steered at him. How the hell had Snape worked it all out? How did he even _know _Harry was with him?

"I...He's in my rooms," He said softly, then realisation hit him," But _please_ just leave him! I'm trying to help him..." Draco's voice trailed off leaving them in silence.

"Help him? Is this to do with the _concealing charms_ he's using on himself?" Once again, the older man left him in a stunned state looking ridiculous with his mouth wide open, "Draco, close your mouth. It is not very befitting of you." Draco's mouth snapped shut and he blushed.

"How-?"

"_Please_," scoffed the older man," Did you really think you could pull one over me?" Draco gave a half laugh as the older man continued to speak, "I will inform the Headmaster of his whereabouts and leave you two be in the mean time. But don't think this can go on Draco...Someone is going to notice. I will come to check on you at a later date. You may go." Draco agreed and left the office, increasing his pace the closer he got to their room. He cautiously open the door and peered in to find harry putting the finishing touches to a lovely set dinner for two. Harry caught Draco's eyes as he entered the room and they both smiled.

"Hi." The dark haired boy said and pulled out a chair for Draco. He placed his bag on his bed and went to sit at the table.

"Did you make this?"

"Yes...well no. I mean the House Elves made it...I just thought you might've wanted something nice" he replied timidly and went about busying himself with preparing a plate for Draco. Draco sat watching the boy in awe, all he had ever wanted was to be friends with Harry and here he was spending most of his time with the boy, who was looking after him in return for Draco helping him through this rough patch in his life. With both of their plates full, Harry's less filled than Draco's; they tucked into their meal in a comfortable silence. After 10 full minutes Harry was the first to break it.

"So...how was your day, Dear?" Harry smirked as Draco choked on a mouthful of food laughing.

"You're like a bloody stay-at-home wife, '_Darling, could you please pass the salt?_', Shit! Soon you'll be kissing me goodbye before sending me off in the morning" The words were out of Draco's mouth before he could stop them, '_Damn it! Really not helping my case here,'_

"Why...would you like me to?" The blonde haired boy's eyes widened as words failed him and Harry just sat smiling.

"What? I never... I don't- "Draco started rambling, trying to cover up his comment when the realisation hits Draco like a brick, seeing the mischief in Harry's eyes," You're doing this on purpose aren't you! Git." He stated and folded his arms across his chest in a defensive manner. Harry looked at Draco thoughtfully.

"Maybe I am...maybe I just like to see you squirm," there was a beat and both boys fell into a fit of giggles. They finished their dinner, Harry calling Dobby to take away the leftovers and went about their evening; Draco chatting about trivial things and telling Harry about his life growing up. He noticed how unusually quiet Harry was, but chose not to voice his concerns, afraid of killing the mood.

That night as he lay in bed he thought about how wonderful it felt to have Harry _wanting _to spend time with him; granted, it's not like Harry had many options unless he wanted to brave the outside world, but the fact that he didn't _not _want to be here made him happy all the same. Draco shut off the lights and said goodnight to Harry, ignoring the little twinge of sadness at knowing that _this_ wouldn't last.


	8. Stuck in a Cabin with the Snake

As the days dragged on; Harry, not having attended or been seen for a week, the school became an up roar, everybody panicking over "The Golden Boy's" disappearance. The only three people who knew where he was hiding were the Headmaster, Snape and Draco. Dumbledore had spoken to the school and reassured them that Harry was fine and that there was no reason to panic.

Ron and Hermione were painfully worried about their estranged friend and had even thought wise to contact Mrs Weasley. She had turned up on the Wednesday morning demanding to see the Headmaster and threw a fit when he claimed that Harry was safe and well but that he was unable to give her his whereabouts.

Dumbledore had not gone to Draco's chambers over the week to check on him, he just assumed that Draco would look after Harry and contact him if anything went wrong. He had no doubt that Harry was acting this way over the cruel treatment he received over the holidays. Although he was loathed to admit it, Dumbledore did indeed know of the carryings on at Number Four Privet Drive. He had known for years; but as much as he wanted to save the poor boy from the abuse, he relied on his mother's protection to keep him safe so that one day he could defeat Voldemort.

Over the week Harry had only left Draco's chambers twice and he was starting to feel trapped. You would think that after being treated like a prisoner in his own house for most of your life he would be used to it; but no. Harry was starting to feel the effects of cabin fever coming along and by the weekend he was positively itching to rein free from the room. Although he had no wish to be surrounded by people, he wanted nothing more than to escape into the world; he wanted to go down to the lake, he wanted to take a long stroll through the forbidden forest, he just wanted to be free.

Unbeknown to Draco, horrible thoughts of self-harm and death had been circulating around the raven haired boys mind all week, but he had done his best to keep them in line and not given in to his urges. Draco had been nothing short of saint during his stay – something that Harry would have scoffed at in previous years. He endured long periods of silence when Harry could not bring himself to speak, he got used to being the only one to eat a full meal and he stayed silent and listened when Harry needed someone to relay his past abuse to; and to say that the blonde boy was shocked by what he heard would be the understatement of the century. He would often shudder while listening to the horror stories he was burdened with, but he would never let Harry know this...he needed someone to be strong for him, and if the rest of the world had already failed him, then it was up to Draco.

Okay...lay it on me. I know I haven't updated in like...forever, but i went through a "You're terrible at writing. Just stop and go eat carrots" faze...yeah, not the best of times. So this is just a little chapter as I start getting back into writing again :)

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One evening at the start of second week, the two boys were sat on the couch; Harry reading one of his text books that Dobby had retrieved from his trunk and Draco sitting opposite him just staring at him. This should have made him unnerved the raven headed boy, but as Draco had been doing this for the past week, he had grown used to it. Draco thought he was being subtle about it, but Harry always knew.

After a week of silence, the rest of the world came knocking on Draco's door in the form of Professor Snape. Harry stopped reading and glanced over at the hole in the wall. Draco had inconspicuously hinted to the rest of the school that he no longer wished for his 'friends' to disturb him while he was in his rooms, so there was only one person that could be and Harry was _NOT _looking forward to it.

The door open to reveal one Professor Snape in all his glory; Robes swirling around his legs as he stopped in front of the two boys on the couch.

"Good evening, Mister Potter," He drawled and sent a nod of acknowledgement in Draco's direction, "I trust you are enjoying your impromptu holiday. A tad unorthodox for my liking, but then again, we aren't all, '_The Chosen One'_"


End file.
